HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
The only hotel on Taos Plaza, where guests still report cigar smoke long after its cigar-loving owner died
108 S Taos Plaza, Taos, NM 87571
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Historic boutique hotel on Taos Plaza; room rates vary by season. The hotel's D.H. Lawrence 'Forbidden Art' collection can be viewed for a small fee.
Access
Limited Access
Historic multi-story adobe building on the plaza; stairs and period thresholds
Equipment
Photos OK
Only Hotel on Taos Plaza · Home of the D.H. Lawrence 'Forbidden Art' Collection · Longtime Ownership of Saki Karavas
Hotel La Fonda de Taos occupies the south side of the historic Taos Plaza and bills itself as the oldest hotel in Taos and the only one standing directly on the plaza. The adobe building has served travelers to the historic district for generations and sits steps from the galleries, museums, and shops at the heart of town.
For much of the twentieth century the hotel was owned by Saki Karavas, a colorful Taos figure remembered for his cigars and for the art collection he kept at La Fonda. Karavas acquired a group of paintings by the English writer D.H. Lawrence — works that had been seized as obscene when first exhibited in London in 1929 — and displayed them at the hotel as the 'Forbidden Art' collection. The paintings remain a draw for visitors, who can view them for a small fee.
The hotel has since been renovated while keeping its historic character and its connection to the Lawrence collection. It continues to operate as a boutique hotel on the plaza, trading on its location and its place in the cultural history of Taos. Its long association with Karavas, and his particular habits, sit behind the ghost story most often attached to the building.
Sources
The ghost story attached to Hotel La Fonda de Taos is sensory rather than visual. The most consistent report is the smell of cigar smoke drifting through the building when no one is smoking — a scent that people who visit, work in, or stay at the hotel have described over the years.
Local ghost-walk operators connect the phantom cigar smoke to Saki Karavas, the hotel's longtime owner, for whom cigars were a well-known signature. In that telling, the lingering smoke is read as Karavas keeping an eye on the place he ran for so long. The account is the kind of single-sense, owner-tied story common to old hotels.
Because the cigar-smoke claim rests largely on a single strand of local lore and ghost-tour narration rather than multiple independent investigations, it is best treated as unverified Taos folklore. The hotel's documented identity rests on its plaza location and the Lawrence art collection; the ghost story is a smaller, well-worn piece of its reputation that the town's haunted walks have kept in circulation.
Notable Entities
The only hotel directly on Taos Plaza, La Fonda de Taos is a historic adobe with rooms and suites in the center of the historic district. The lobby holds the D.H. Lawrence 'Forbidden Art' collection assembled by former owner Saki Karavas, and the building is a recurring stop in Taos paranormal lore.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
Santa Fe, NM
La Fonda on the Plaza in Santa Fe occupies the oldest continuously occupied inn site in the United States. Records show an inn at this location when the Spanish founded Santa Fe in 1607; the current building dates to 1922 and operated as a Fred Harvey property from 1926 to 1968. At least two documented violent deaths occurred within the original structure, including the 1867 shooting death of Chief Justice John P. Slough.
Cimarron, NM
The St. James Hotel in Cimarron, New Mexico was built in 1872 by Henri Lambert, who had served as personal chef to President Abraham Lincoln. Situated on the Santa Fe Trail, the hotel's saloon and restaurant witnessed at least 26 documented murders during the Wild West era. A father-daughter team under M Vacation Properties & Resorts purchased the property and reopened it December 20, 2024, after its previous closure in September 2024.
Las Vegas, NV
The Aladdin Hotel opened in Las Vegas in 1966 as a major resort and casino property. The hotel underwent renovations and continued operations until its closure in 2003. Planet Hollywood Entertainment acquired the property in 2005, completely renovating and reopening it in 2007 as Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino. The 7th floor Panorama Suite emerged as the property's most paranormally active location during Aladdin Hotel operations.